


A Meri Christmas

by Ludi_Ling



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, Family Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:08:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21945616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ludi_Ling/pseuds/Ludi_Ling
Summary: It's Christmas morning, and Scott and Gil are opening presents by the tree with Meri and Dian.
Relationships: Gil Brodie/Male Ryder | Scott
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	A Meri Christmas

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jeannedarcprice](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeannedarcprice/gifts).



> A Christmas gift for my wonderful sister, Jeanne! Merry Christmas, sis! xxx

“Look! It’s Santa!”

Scott, sitting in the middle of a pile of wrapping paper, leaned over Meri and Dian excitedly, pointing out the jovial figure who’d suddenly marched through the door.

“Ho ho ho!” Santa cried in exuberant greeting, as Meri let out a gasp and Dian began to clap his chubby little hands. “Merry Christmas everybody!”

So saying, he ambled up to the small group by the tree and slid a huge sack off his shoulder and onto the floor before them.

“Is everyone ready for _more_ Christmas presents, from Santa himself?!” he asked in his best booming voice.

“ _Yes!_ ” Meri squealed ecstatically; Dian’s only answer, however, was to let go of Baked Potato (who he’d been clutching onto tightly the past five minutes) and reach up to grip Santa’s beard curiously.

“Excellent!” Santa boomed merrily, as Baked Potato waddled off to continue nibbling his Blasto Christmas tree snack. “Now, let’s just see what I have for you in my sack, little girl!”

He put his hand in the sack, paused, and looked at Meri dubiously.

“Are you sure you’ve been a good girl this year?”

Meri, who, up to this moment had been beside herself with excitement, suddenly went very serious and nodded her head vigorously. Santa, unconvinced, squinted at her.

“Sure you’re sure?”

Scott laughed.

“She’s been a very good girl, haven’t you, Meri?”

Meri nodded, and a sunny smile broke out on Santa’s face.

“Well, if your dada says so, then it must be true.”

He dug deep into his sack, and, after a moment, produced a large package with a flourish.

“Here you are!” he exclaimed. “Just for you!”

With another gasp, Meri grasped onto the present, which it turned out was nearly as big as her.

“Now what do you say, Meri?” Scott encouraged her gently, and she smiled shyly, looked up at Santa and said in a small voice: “Thank you, Santa.”

“Ho ho ho!” Santa laughed. “You’re very welcome! Now,” and he turned to Dian, who still seemed to be mesmerised by his beard, “let’s see what I have for you! Hm!”

Meri was no longer paying attention, ripping her present open as Santa went back to rummaging in his sack. In no time at all she had shredded all the glittery paper, to reveal a huge Ryder-I outpost playset complete with Pathfinder team figurines!

“Dada, dada!” she screamed. “Look!”

“Wow!” Scott gasped, pleased at her euphoric reaction – it was the first thing she’d put on her Christmas list, and Jaal had spent an age custom-making it. “That’s amazing! Those Christmas elves have really worked hard this year, huh?”

But Meri wasn’t listening, already arranging each figurine before her with childish delight.

“Now where is that present?” Santa was musing to himself, still looking around in his sack. “Ah! Here we are!”

From the sack emerged a large-irregularly shaped present, that was obviously a plush. Dian, however, seemed to be completely unimpressed, his attention being entirely absorbed by Santa’s beard. So absorbed, in fact, that with one tug of his tiny little fist, the whole thing was pulled right off.

“Hey!” Meri cried, agog. “Dada, look! That’s not Santa! That’s boba!”

“Ah! Er! Um!” Santa cried, his voice no longer deep and booming. “No I’m not! Who’s boba?”

Meri was soon cackling hysterically as ‘Santa’ tried unsuccessfully to stick his beard back on, Scott unable to help himself joining in as the task quickly turned into a tug-of-war with a persistent Dian.

“Boba, Dian wants the beard for his Christmas present!” Meri giggled. With a monumental sigh, Gil gave up, letting his baby son wrest the white fluff from him triumphantly and put half of it in his mouth.

“Now, now,” Scott said calmly, firmly popping the beard out of Dian’s mouth. “Let’s get this yucky thing out of your mouth, Dian, and open your present, huh?”

Gil looked on with affection as Scott gently put Dian into his lap, helping him to tear open his gift, all the while cooing softly to his son. He’d always known it, but sometimes it really hit him just what a great dad his Scott was.

Finally, Dian had his present opened, and was curiously squishing the giant Eiroch plush between his pudgy hands.

“Hey, I want one!” Meri cut in indignantly. “Can I play with him?”

Gil pulled a face at her. Trust his Meri to lose interest in anything apart from the thing her little brother had!

“Let Dian play with it first, luv,” Gil said. “He only just got it! Maybe if you’re nice to him, he’ll let you play with it later.”

“Aw!” Meri pouted. Within a few seconds, however, everything was forgotten as she was once again absorbed in her playset.

“Busted by a kid, huh, ‘Santa’?” Scott bantered with him cheerily.

“Hey, I was a great Santa!” Gil frowned playfully. “No one would’ve guessed it was me if Dian hadn’t gone for the beard!”

“Riiiight,” Scott teased. “By the way – don’t you have something else in that sack of yours?”

“Ha ha!” Gil gave a dirty laugh in reply. “Trust you to make that sound like a double entendre! As a matter of fact,” and he dipped his hand back into the sack, “I do!”

He found the last present and handed it to his man.

“I’m sorry,” he found himself apologising. “It’s nowhere near as fancy as the ring you got me, but I hope you like it anyway.”

“Don’t be silly,” Scott scoffed merrily. “You always get such thoughtful gifts! Now,” he added, feeling the edges of the present, “I can already tell what this is. It’s a book!”

“Very unlike me, huh?” Gil winked cheekily.

“Hmm.” Scott was looking increasingly curious. “What is this?”

“Well, you’ll have to open it and see, won’t you!”

Giving him a look, Scott slowly tore open the wrapping paper – far too slowly for Gil’s acute sense of anticipation.

“Heeeey!” Scott declared as a leather-bound book revealed itself. “This looks handmade!”

“Yeah, well,” Gil replied, a little smugly. “I learned how to tool it myself.”

“Wait. _You_ made this book? Seriously, Gil – I’m impressed!”

He turned the volume over in his hands, and Gil swelled with pride as he saw how Scott was carefully inspecting the work he’d put into crafting the cover, with its embossed swirls and Celtic knots.

“Take a look inside,” he prompted, suddenly impatient.

Scott shot him another look, before opening the book. A soft breath expelled from his lips as he finally realised what was inside.

“Wait… This is your poetry!”

“Yeah.” Gil could barely get anymore words out, he was so happy to see how amazed Scott was at his creativity. “I, um… thought I would give my muse a little gift to say thanks for all the inspiration you’ve given me over the past few years…”

He trailed off, actually blushing a little with self-consciousness; but Scott had barely noticed, flipping over to the first page and softly reading out what was written there:

“ _Every day,_

_I look outside,_

_And thank the lucky stars I see,_

_For having you here next to me._

_Awesome friend,_

_And loving partner,_

_And now the bestest loving father._ ”

He looked up at Gil, his eyes shining.

“Gil… This is…”

No more words would come, his voice thick with emotion. Finally, after a few seconds, he was able to say:

“I don’t think I’ve read this one before. Is it new?”

Gil smiled, overcome by his guy’s gratifying response.

“Well, you remember that time when the li’l bugger ate your special birthday cake, and everyone had to bake you a new one? Well, that was the poem I was working on that day, except you know how crap I am at writing in rhyme, so I gave up. I picked it up again a few weeks back, and suddenly the last line was staring me in the face.” He grinned at the memory, of the moment that burst of inspiration had hit him. “I don’t think I could have finished it at any other point in my life.”

Scott could only stare at him, overwhelmed by the sentiment.

“Gil…” Once again he tried to finish the sentence, but failed. Instead he leaned over and kissed him softly on the lips. “This is something to treasure. Thank you so much.”

The kiss ran a little deeper, before Gil noticed out of the corner of his eye that Baked Potato had had enough of his Blasto tree, and was beginning to waddle off in the direction of the kitchen.

“Oh no you don’t!” He broke away quickly from Scott, only just managing to grasp the mischievous space rodent by its rotund backside. “No way are you getting to that Christmas dinner before the guests come!”

“Speaking of,” Scott spoke up, as Gil carried Baked Potato off to his cage, “our son is also making a habit out of putting everything he sees into his mouth!”

He tutted, working the Eiroch plush’s ear gently out of Dian’s mouth.

“I’d better change his diaper before Jill or Sarah and Jaal get here!”

“Nappy,” Gil shot at him, as Scott picked up Dian and was nearly halfway out the door.

“Diaper!” Scott snit back humorously.

“Nappy! British English came first, remember!”

“Don’t you start with all that ‘to-may-to’-‘to-mah-to’ stuff! I’m the one changing the _diaper_ after all! Be thankful I’m not making it _your_ job right now! I am the ‘bestest, loving father’, after all!”

“And the bestest loving partner to boot,” Gil couldn't help but agree, sidling over to kiss him on the cheek.

“Don’t worry, boba,” Meri assured him from her spot on the floor. “ _I_ know it’s called a nappy!”

At the solemn declaration, neither Gil nor Scott could help but laugh.

“You little traitor!” Scott cried jokingly, to which Meri stuck her tongue out at him.

“That's my girl!” Gil chuckled. “She has the sass of a true Brodie!”

“And this one has a diaper as deadly as the Archon Killer!” Scott quipped, wincing. “So if you don’t mind, I think I’ll carry on proving to the galaxy just how much of a ‘bestest, loving father’ I really am!”

And he disappeared promptly into the bathroom.

“And while I'm at it,” his voice sailed back over to Gil as an afterthought, “you think you can put the nibbles out for when the guests arrive?”

Gil chuckled again. He loved it when Scott started throwing around orders.

“Yes, Pathfinder!”

He headed towards the kitchen, only to hear Scott add:

“Love you, Red!”

To which he could only wholeheartedly reply:

“Love you too, Scottie!”

-END-


End file.
